December 4, 2012

The reason I am writing today and not yesterday is because we had Christmas Zone Conference. We didn't know about it last Monday or else I would have let you know. We had it in Lubbock with half the mission! And I hung out with the sisters the whole time. Sister L (prior companion) and L (MTC companion) were there, too, so that was fun, but also there were lots of sisters I have never met, but we all connected and had a grand time! So excited for future transfers to be able to get to know and work with these other sisters! 

Also be happy I am being put to good use. I led the caroling songs (about 7 songs) yesterday. My arm was tired by the end, but I was not nervous so it was good! :)

AND great news! I did not know for sure last Monday BUT WE HAVE SISTERS HERE IN CLOVIS!!! In my old apartment! I call them my sisters of salvation! Because I have NEVER served around sisters and this is an answer to my prayers! To be able to spend the holidays with them, and to be able to talk to them! Such a blessing in my life! Plus they are both new to the area and I know Clovis since I started there! That is another tender mercy. That I can actually help because Sister O is like me and just got done training and is now training Sister G. Everything happens for a reason and this is such a blessing in my life! We all drove together to Lubbock yesterday and I just love it! 

So this week has been amazing! But super abnormal too. Like I got thrown up on, by a lady's daughter during the prayer at the end of our lesson. Yep, right on my skirt! We went straight home and I showered. So great!

And Sara has been MIA until last night when she told us she has strep... So I'll keep you updated on that.

BUT the best news of all is our investigator C. His friend, a member, texted us and said her friend wanted to meet with us. So we did, and the first words out of his mouth were "If I join your church do I have to give up iced tea?" It really reminded me of Granddad and how he said that was the hardest thing to give up! He had dated a Mormon and knew a lot! And also some funny things too! Like he was CONVINCED we had a secret handshake in the church. Like to get into the temple we are all hip-bumping and pounding eachother to get through the doors. COULD YOU IMAGINE all those sweet old people doing a long involved hand shake of fun? Too great! So we met with him and last night had our 3rd and most amazing lesson! The Spirit was so strong and he admitted to himself that he knows this is true! It is seriously the most amazing thing! His current hang up is his family. His dad is a preacher, and all his friends are from Bible camps. He knows that he might lose everything for this decision. But he is willing to make it! He has been now contemplating BYU to get out of here, and I have told Cami to FB him. I just want to help him in ANY way that I can. This is such a hard step in his life, and I am so in awe of him! I am also trying to convince him to go on a mission! Wouldn't that be amazing! One day I hope to introduce you all to him. His conversion has been a life changing event for me. This Church is the one true Church, and this is the most amazing work in the world! I am just so grateful to be living my life in a way that Heavenly Father has blessed me with the opportunity to be His instrument. 

Well I could go on for hours, and can't wait to one day tell you of all my experiences, but I have to jet. I love you all! Merry Christmas! Today it is like 70 degrees, so enjoy the snow for me! Love you! xoxoxoxo

November 26, 2012

Sounds like you had quite the grand Thanksgiving! I am so sad I missed it, but am getting used to it :) It just didn't really feel like Thanksgiving without my family, but such is life currently. :) We did have a nice Thanksgiving. It started out with us going to A and E's house to help them with their Thanksgiving preparations. We had a nice time visiting with them. Then we stopped by a member family in our ward and met their daughter who goes to school in Arizona, and whom we had heard so much about. We then went to  our ward mission leader's house. He also has a daughter who is not of our faith, and we have been teaching. At this point I was pretty sad to not have my own family around, but they had invited 2 sisters in our ward, and one is going to school and in her like 50's and the other one, J, is military. I am so glad that they invited J because she is very loud and fun and welcoming and just made things feel at home. We stayed and ate (amazing food! EVERYTHING was homemade!) They also had prime rib because their son doesn't like turkey, so that was interesting, and I sure did miss Mom's frozen cranberry salad! We then went to Clovis to the church there and got together with the elders for some b-ball and games. I was pretty tired at that point, but had a nice day. The holidays are sure hard being away from home, but just one more round of these next year and I'll be staring Utah right in the face! That will be nice to look forward to! AND I am so SO excited for my call home! It is going to be here and gone so fast, but I'm anxious for Christmas to be able to call!  

Also Thanksgiving really didn't feel like Thanksgiving because temperatures here were in the high 70's!!! I didn't even wear a jacket or my boots to stay warm all day! It was super crazy! Christmas will probably be about the same! It really only gets chilly here when the wind blows, but I always just wear that red jacket you sent. Never so cold I need gloves or a real coat!

We had our transfer calls Saturday night and we are both staying. I almost wish I was going because I am ready to move on. I know that I am here for a reason though, and can see how there are certain investigators that I still need to help. I honestly am getting more and more attached here, and think it would just be easier to leave now though. But I'm not in charge. I do love this ward, and our investigators, and am just afraid of how hard it is going to be to leave in another 6 weeks!! The crazy part about transfers this time is that out of the 8 missionaries in our area 5 of them are leaving!! So that will be fun to meet the new elders.

Our investigators are doing well. We didn't see a lot of them this past week, since a lot of them left for the holiday or had family here for the holiday and so we are ready to hit it hard again this week. Also everyone is getting sick here too. I guess it's because it is super warm one day and then at night it is cold. Sister S got sick and is so kindly sharing with me :( but we are going to gear up on medicine and such today at the store.

Sara's new baptismal date is supposed to be Dec 1st, but she went out of town with her boyfriend (boo!) and never responded to any of our texts... So that is completely up in the air! But we are seeing miracles, and blessing come forth! One step at a time!

I love you all, and thank you for all your prayers and love!

Can you believe this week is December! Love you! xoxoxo

Sister Peterson

attached are pictures of our little district outside our house! Sorry the one with all of us is blurry! :)

November 19, 2012

My dearest Family!

Hello! How grateful I am to be here in this town. Just this past week it hit me that I am almost to my 6 month mark. Before I know it, it will be January 5th! And then I'm a 3rd of the way through! It really sent a shock through me and I realized that I need to enjoy more of the journey. After church yesterday I was talking to E and A (our two investigators who just need to get married but he said he is waiting to propose till Valentines) and a couple in our ward who have a son out on a mission. I can't remember who said it, but they said that I they hope I serve my whole mission here! A was adamant that I should, and was excited at that prospect! It hit me how much the people love me, and are getting to know me, and it made me realize I need to enjoy this ward and people while I can. We had 7 investigators at church yesterday and it was amazing! The work is really coming along. ALSO I have seen a visible change in the ward here since we first came in. They now pray in every meeting for the missionaries, and our ward mission leader told us the other day to slow down a bit-- teasing us for all the work we are doing. This ward had some major trust issues with missionaries when we first came in, due to trouble missionaries previously. But now: people are telling me to move back here when I'm done and I really do love them! So I am going to try and really focus on loving people!

We have transfers this Saturday, but it would be a shock if anything changes. This Thanksgiving we are going to the ward mission leaders house for dinner. We can only spend an allotted 2 hours there. So before that other families invited us over, but we will just stop by to say hi, and meet family members we have only ever heard about who will be in town for the holidays. And then at some point we will get together with the elders (they want to play football....) But other than that it should just be laid back. We aren't supposed to proselyte that day so I'll probably just think of how grateful I am to have a ward that is good, investigators to teach, food to eat, a roof over my head, and AMAZING family and friends back home who have not forgotten me: who pray for me, who care for me, and who keep me in their hearts as they are ever in mine! How grateful I am for the knowledge of the truth, and the path for true happiness.

As for things here: they are getting better. Slowly but surely. In companion inventory Friday Sister S and I finally actually communicated. She told me how she has trust problems, and doesn't trust me, but told me there is nothing I can do to help change that... And I told her how this lack of communication is so detrimental and is making life horrid. So we promised each other to try and really voice how we feel and really work on this. I was so nervous that Saturday nothing will have changed, but it did, not much, but enough to feel a change in the house. We talk more, and though I don't think our personalities are such that we will ever be bff's, we can still be successful and work in unity. I prayed long and hard (as usual) and found that we need to read the scriptures more together. So we've started that (and it really helps!!) And then I realized that we need a basis of understanding, so during our extended comp study, because she is training, I am going to think of activities we can do everyday that are fun to help relieve tension in our house. So this past week we made snowflakes one day, and a countdown to Christmas chain the next. It is a work in progress, and one that I know is only succeeding by divine help, and the prayers from you! I cannot see any other way that there is this change. I thank God everyday for my support team back home. I still don't understand why things had to be hell for these past 6 weeks, but one day I pray, God willing, I will know and see what I learned and how I grew.

Dad, we are the only sisters in all of our zone, so all of New Mexico, so no we do not get to go on splits. :(

God is good and even though we don't understand He always has OUR best interest at heart. I really wish I could be with you all this holiday season, but know that the time will come when we will be together again. And that time will be more sweet because of this time apart. I am grateful for the gospel, it is true! Jesus Christ lives! I am grateful for the way this has shaped my life, and for this opportunity to help others feel of that peace and comfort. I love you all and am so happy to know I will be with you for the eternities. Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them. Keep the faith!

Love Sister Peterson!

Pictures:

Me and the baby christmas tree the elders surprised us with!

Emily and her name tag (what a fun trio that would be!) and she made us hats! She is pro!

November 12, 2012

Hello!

I am happy I am not in Utah to hear about your snow and freezing temperatures! It is cold here , but not that cold. We haven't had any moisture, but the wind sure blows here! On Saturday it was so bad that at our investigator Sara's house a tree blew right over! We had just finished our lesson with her, and were at another lesson when she called us in a panic! She is down here at school, and didn't know who else to call. So we asked the people that we were currently teaching (two college girls) if they would mind, and they actually came with us. Sara was pretty overwhelmed, so I ended up calling the gas company and then they told me to call 911, since it fell right on the gas meter. The gas company guy did find a leak, so we were glad we called. It was quite the adventure! I attached pictures.

Lately on P-day it's been a running race. With all that we have to get done and then Sister S wants to do everything the elder's are doing and I look for ways everyday to try and make her happy, so we end up running all day. I honestly would just like to sit on my bed and write letters, but it's ok. I realized though this week that I need to send home more of my adventures. I STILL get letters with people commenting on my dead dog story! Yes I am that silly apparently! BUT most of my friends say they thought the same thing. It just shows how many kindred spirits I really have!

So updates on our Investigators: we had SIX at church yesterday, which was very happy! 4 of them want to be baptized, 3 of them need to marry their live-in's and the other one is Sara. No she did not get baptized this past week, but she did a lot of soul searching and knows that it is going to happen within the month. We have it set on Dec 1st because these next 2 week ends she will be out of town. We had some amazing lessons with her this week. I am so excited for her! I really am making friends for life, and my heart is getting attached.

We had zone conference this past week, and since we are the only sisters in all of New Mexico, that was fun. :) No the mission treats all the sisters really well, and President is wanting us to kick it up a notch and really show our loyalty to the Lord and really find those who are ready to be taught. It is always such an uplifting and powerful thing to get together with other missionaries, and to hear from President A.

My adventure for the week:

Ever since we moved here we have driven down this one road, it is the road we take to get to the main road in town. Well without fail at least once a day there are chickens, chickens crossing the road. Never in my life have a seen a chicken cross the road, but now I know EXACTLY where the joke comes from. So this time it's "why do the chickens cross the road?" "BECAUSE THE SISTER MISSIONARIES ARE COMING!"  -no lie. I had to honk today to get them out of the way.

I love you all, and look so forward to each Monday to hear from my family! I love you!  44 more days till we talk!!

xoxo Sister P.

November 5, 2012

Hello Family,

So things are looking up around here. I have found that the days that seem to be my very lowest, the days Satan is working on me the hardest are the days that as I hold on, things break through. Sister S and I are finally fine. We aren't best friends or anything, but we are fine companions. I think it was a lot that she is new, and so she was adjusting to missionary life. Now that she sees the way that things work, she is trying to help me carry the load. For the first time (I think) she finally sees everything that I am constantly thinking about and working on to help the work and our investigators. We talked about it this past week, and there is a lot less tension in the relationship.

I am still learning myself how to handle the daily stresses that come with missionary work, but I am working my hardest to rely on the Lord, and with Him get through the trials of each day. I know that it is the Holy Ghost that is the real teacher, and am just focusing on keeping the Spirit with me, and it will all work out. In my email back from President how training is going, I had told him how stressful it is, and he told me that I need to just concentrate on being a good missionary, not a perfect trainer, or whatever else I worry about, but just to be the best missionary I can possibly be. As I focus on that, things are coming together. I can't control our inv. or my companion, or the situations that come up, but I can control myself.  I am just so grateful for all the support I have from all the people who love me, at home and out here. We were at our investigator's house, John (he has a problem with the Book of Mormon) but as I closed our lesson with a prayer, I asked that our families would be safe as they are far away from all of us who were in the room. After the prayer, he said "Sister Peterson, your family is not far away!" -I thought, I know they aren't across the whole United States (he's from Florida) but Utah is still far! and as I gave him a confused look he replied, "Your family is here, all around you." Meaning the people I am teaching and have grown to love, the people in the ward, and those people who I am around daily. I feel like I constantly learn more from my investigators than they learn from me. It is a true testimony that though I am here doing God's work, He has not left me alone, but is extremely mindful of me, and what I also need. Because little did John know, but that pierced my heart, because it is true. :)

Ok... about the baptism with Sara this weekend. Yesterday she brought this boy to church with her, and last night when we went over for  our lesson, he was there again cooking in her kitchen. So when we first get there she says to us that she has been thinking about it and wants to wait to be baptized until THE SPRING! She said that she feels too stressed right now, and then it will be thanksgiving, and then finals and so she just thinks the spring will be good! :( We talked it out and I asked if she had received that answer in prayer, and so she said she will pray about it and tell us her answer on Wednesday! :( But as we kept talking to her, it comes out that this boy is her boyfriend and he has no interest in the church, and she said that they are now looking for a church that they BOTH want to go to!!! Mind you she has only been dating this boy for 2 days!! :(Stupid boys ruin everything!) The most ridiculous part about it is that when we taught her like the 2nd time she was having boy troubles with another guy and she said she prayed about it and felt like she shouldn't have a boyfriend right now! And then this!! Satan is working on her, so we just keep praying, because we have done all we can do. Grrrr. So we'll see. I'll let you know!

Anyhow that's all for this week! We have been meeting some amazing prepared people! I'll update you next week!

I love you all! thanks for all the support from those I love!

xoxoxo-Sister P.

October 29, 2012

Hello!

 

I can't wait to see all the kiddles costumes! Oh how I love this holiday.

 

Also we have a car. All the sisters do. We have a Thursday mission wide "bike" day. So since Sister S is here we have had our first bike day this past Thursday was our second. I think it is getting too cold and windy to probably continue until spring but we will see. The GPS is extremely nice since there are a lot of weird roads and you know how good I am with directions....

 

Dad: thanks for that thought about mounds and mountains. Things if not getting better are not as pressing on me. It is the quote that pops into mind about it "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased." -Heber J. Grant. So no things are awesome or fun with Sister S. I honestly can't figure it out. I just think it is a personality difference. She is just very short with me and I can't place my finger right on it but maybe she's just negative? I just keep praying for love and even though I sometimes get shut down when I am just trying to be nice, I am going to persist. My current big issue is that I haven't been sleeping well at night. Sister S is a very active sleeper: tossing and turning every 10 minutes, popping her knuckles, all while asleep. Then this past week she has taken on sleep talking. Once she wakes me up I am up for about an hour trying to fall back to sleep, so I am up for about 2 hours a night. This makes me feel very grumpy in the morning and makes for long days. Last Monday I bought ear plugs hoping that would solve the problem, but it hasn't. Then I would sleep on the couch, but still couldn't sleep. So I finally called the mission president's wife (yes I feel like one of those annoying sister missionaries) and she suggested melatonin. I've been taking that the past two nights with not help there either. I talked to her again this morning and she said maybe Sister S should take the melatonin and she wouldn't be so active. But I asked Sister S and she replied, "I'm not the one with the problem sleeping!" So I'm sure that things are really alright, but my lack of sleep doesn't help me. I am trying hard, but know that with prayer and faith it will all be ok. Even if the situation and our relationship never gets better I can still be happy. Like dad said it is a choice. So I keep a happy thought with me all day. I wish that we would have an open relationship, but when I once asked her, after she said something snappy like that to me, if she was upset, she said "no". So either she is and doesn't want to talk about it, or that is just the way she is. So I just take one day at a time. And remembering that I am here for the people we are teaching, not because it is a vacation. :)

 

And talking about days I realized this past week that in a short 2 months I get to talk to you on the phone!!! 57 days from today! I'm very excited!

 

Well I dunno what else to say! Stay warm, I love you all! Happy Halloween!! xoxoxo- Sister P.

 

October 22, 2012

Hello!

Yes, Dad training is EXTREMELY hard! On Friday I had the hardest day I have had yet on my mission. I cried all morning until about noon. Background: I went to Lubbock with Sister L on Wednesday to pick up Sister S. She grew up in Alaska, and funny thing: when I was trying to think of positives with S. L, I said "What if she is a cosmetologist!" On the car ride home I asked her what she did before the mission and she said she is in fact a cosmetologist!!!

But being in charge is hard. Especially for the first time, with someone who doesn't know what's going on. Then to add on top of that, Sister S is a VERY private person. As in she eats meals everyday in her room with the door shut. I tried all Thursday to get to know her, and then felt like she hated me. So Friday when I woke up, it was all too much. Satan was working hard on me. I told Sister S that I didn't think I could do this:  be here for 12 weeks with someone who won't talk to me. Friday was just a very hard day, but that night Sister S finally opened up to me and told me that she thought training was hard because of her. As I explained all that I have to worry about and do, she then I think realized the weight that I felt on my shoulders. So things got better. Honestly, it is still really hard to be home for meals. We just have VERY different personalities. When I tell her I will be right back because I have to go to the bathroom, her comment is always, "no" or "nope". And I know that is her way of teasing, but it is really hard, I can feel the difference by what she says. I honestly don't think she thinks I know what I am talking about. BUT------- I have come to terms with it. Heavenly Father has us here for a reason, and this is something I have always hated: not being best friends with the people I am around. You aren't going to be chums with every single companion. But that doesn't mean you can't be happy, and that we can't work well together, because we do. She is very spiritual, and we teach well together, and are both very motivated.

I felt really bad for making her feel like she was why training is hard, but I was talking to an AP today on the phone and he asked how it was going. I told him "good" and he said "'Oh really? I trained right after being trained and that first week was the hardest week of my mission, to be in charge when you have never been before." That made me feel a lot better. I have also been able to grow relationships with the members, and the other missionaries in our district and zone leaders. Not in a "Forget Sister S"  kind of way, but a "help us all together" kind of way. I am praying everyday for more charity, and know that it will come, that Heavenly Father is refining me. 

Mom, I am grateful for your letter this week. I really needed that just to keep my spirits up. To answer about that obedience thing. Here's the back story for that: We in this house have a washer and drier. Well the elders when we moved into the house asked Sister L if they could continue to do their laundry here. She said yes, and I respected her role as senior companion, though she knew how I felt about obedience. Elders in our mission are not supposed to be in the sister's apartments at all. So when I got the call to be senior, I told the elders that we were going to be exactly obedient in my companionship. They threw up a HUGE fuss, but I told them it is not because I don't love them, but because I want the blessings of being obedient, and if they did get it approved from President that was fine. They didn't. And at transfers in Lubbock, President called me over to talk to him and stressed obedience. I told him I had already taken care of it. THEN yesterday, one of the members in my ward, who houses  elders in one of their trailer houses, told me that the elders told her about the laundry thing. I told her I was trying to be obedient and she said she didn't realize it was a rule!!! The elders had just complained to her and didn't explain why!! She then told me that they had complained so much that her husband feels bad and is going to buy them a washer and drier! This makes me so upset because it is not the member's responsibility! And then today I get a call from a set of elders and they tell me that they haven't found somewhere to do laundry and tried to bully me into letting them do it at our house. So then I'm all upset and call my district leader, who was then picking sides out of friendship. So he told me that if I was upset to call the AP's, which I did and they were so supportive and got it taken care of. I am just grateful that Sister S wants to be obedient like me!!!

SO LIFE IS CRAZY HERE!! But with the bitter comes the sweet and we have a handful of AMAZING INVESTIGATORS!  We set a baptismal date with one of them, Sara a college student, this past week for November 10th!!! She has been so prepared and we are so excited for her. She received awesome answers to her prayers, and I think we will be friends for life! It is so amazing to see the change the gospel can have with people!!

And I think that's it! I love you all and know that God has a plan for each one of us! I pray for you often and am so grateful for your support!

Love Sister P.